Dreams In Designs
by ButtonandaZipper
Summary: Even distance couldn't keep her off his mind. An AU Thayzee one shot from Thomas' POV. *Disclaimer - only own the story, not the characters*


**A/N: Heya! I know, I know, it's been extremely WAAAAYYY too long since I've updated my Roughley/Samcedes stories. smh - this is what I was afraid of going into the world of multi chapters :-S I am working on them now - hopefully will have them all updated by Memorial Day (since I'm off from both jobs-yea! LOL). Until then, I hope that this Thayzee one shot finds you all well. (Still unsure about the ending - may just change it later) Enjoy!**

Thomas was now living in Paris and helping Throne run Forrester Creations International. He loved it - being able to have a fresh start and working with people who really valued his knowledge and ideas. It felt amazing! Though there was one downside - his romantic and overall social life had taken a few hits. Not that he had trouble finding someone to go out with..it was just..

All the Persian women here and he could not take his mind of the one that got away in LA. Even now with thousands of miles between them.

'She's _married_. It is way past time to move on.' He told himself.

Only when he tried to do just that – it didn't seem to stick. So he threw himself into his work. A few months had went by and Thomas thought he was okay. That was until the dreams started.

At first they were innocent enough – she would meet him for coffee at a local café, or they would be walking and talking through The Carnavalet Museum. Now…the dreams were just downright indecent! He would wake up and sketch for hours just to collect his thoughts before trying to fall asleep again.

Paris Fashion Week was a few weeks away and Steffy had managed to rope him into working on a new line together. They would meet weekly at his penthouse and Thomas had forgotten that he'd given her the spare key. When he woke up that morning to Esthero's 'Country Livin' coming from his sound system, all he could do was try to prepare himself for his sisters' up and coming cray cray. Thomas quickly put on some jeans and a t-shirt while making his way to the living room. Once he got a look at what was waiting for him – he immediately regretted giving her the spare key in the first place.

'Oh my Goodness! Thomas – for someone so reluctant to partner up – you sure do have plenty of ideas! These designs..they aren't just sexy..they're elegant, and daring!'

_Of course_ she was looking at the sketches that he'd left out. The night before he had had a round of dreams that were so intense that he ending up taking out all his previous sketches. Some he just tweaked a bit more, others he found himself simply gazing at before finally going back to bed.

'They're not for your collection Steffy.' He said.

'What? Why not? Are you going to pitch them to Throne for Taboo For Women?'

' No. These are not for TFW either.'

'Ohhhhkay. Then I gotta ask again – why not?'

'Steffy please just drop it.'

'Not gonna happen! These designs are amazing, and if they are NOT for your line and I can not have them for mine – then I at least want to know why?'

He sighed and shook his head. 'No one was suppose to see these. They were just something I would work on to...'

'To what Thomas?'

'To clear my head. At _night_.'

Steffy continued to look at him all confused, and he could not believe that she was going to make him go into further detail.

' You know – at night? When I'm _alone_ and can't sleep?'

He could practically see the light bulb go off in her head and had to hold back a laugh despite himself.

'Oh. OH! Really?'

'Yes. Satisfied?'

'Okaaaayyy. For starters – wrong word choice there. And two – these designs have got to come to life! They are far too good to just sit idly by on these sketches. Mmhhm. I would love to meet the woman behind _these_ inspirations..'

'You already have.' He wanted to kick his own self for letting that slip out!

True to her nature, Steffy heard that and ran with it. 'I have? Sweet! Well, who is she then?'

'C'mon! It is too early for this. Let's just start working on your line.'

Thomas tried to pick up all the sketches from her, but Steffy managed to hold on to the three in her hand and walked triumphantly towards the couch. Laughing as she plopped down on the sofa.

'Nope! Since you won't tell me who your 'muse' is, I'll have to figure it out for myself using these. It'll be fun!'

Thomas knew it would be anything but 'fun', just as he knew that her mind was made up. Resigning to the thought of her giving up, he decided to make some coffee. With a hot cup in his hand, he made his way back to the living room. He would have found his sisters' antics adorable if he didn't feel so vulnerable.

'Those three are my _absolute_ favorites! The first one – with the rich chocolates, blacks, and wine like colors..It's strong, yet inviting while grabbing your attention in an unexpected way. Veeerrrrryyy enticing!'

As she giggled to herself he took a sip of his coffee. That was the first design he conjured up several weeks ago. He was remembering that February years ago when she had first caught his attention. All smiles and fluttering about at the coffee shop. That night he tried to make a dress that would capture her glowing presence. The result was a simple floor length gown, with a soft halter neck line. It had a low back and with the right draping – it would move with almost as much grace as she did.

'This is definitely NOT someone from your playboy era! Can I get a hint at least?'

It was her turn to let out a sigh of frustration when Thomas then introduced her to the Kanye shrug. If he was going to have to put up with her mess about this – then she could handle a bit of his along the way.

'Fine. Don't think I'm giving up! THIS one – I loves the cut. So flirty! Could be worn day or night with the right accessories. And lingerie!'

He knew without looking that she was talking about the 'Canary' number. Inspired by his wicked thoughts of what could have happened on their last dinner date.. The gold fabric had a metallic silver piping and it shimmed along the mid-thigh. The dress was meant to cling and follow the curves of the woman's body – as though it were a second skin. With a daring lunged back and a sweetheart line, Thomas knew it could be a 'Wow' piece.

'Is she that new model for Hope for the Future? Olivia? I thought you two had a moment last July! Why didn't you tell me?'

'Because there was nothing to tell. It isn't her.'

'Are you serious?! Ugh! Okay, my final pick of your work. Dad and Granddad would be so proud of this one Thomas. It's old school meets new school..A modern feel with the classic touches. This could even work for another wedding -'

'Stephanie! That's enough. Give me the designs and lets focus on your line for Fashion Week. Please.' Thomas finally had reached his breaking point. He didn't mean to snap at her, but that last piece that she was talking about..

Knowing when she had struck a nerve and to let it go, Steffy sat up and looked at the designs one more time before handing them to Thomas. He could not bring himself to look at the third sketch. He just couldn't. It wasn't one of the ones that he had started since being in Paris. That design was the last one that he had created while in LA. For _her_.

When he had heard of the engagement, he was fine - happy for her even. Then all the good press from Hope For The Future's 'Perfect Wedding' had launched Eric into 'Strike While It's Hot' mode. He wanted to keep the momentum going, so he asked Thomas and Ridge to work on some more designs for the line. When he started to work on some sketches - they were all inspired_ by her. _The last design Steffy had gushed over was the one. The one he'd kept - Thomas couldn't bring himself to submit it for the line.

He only saw one woman wearing that gown, and he couldn't stand the thought of her wearing it down the aisle to become someone else's wife. When she ended up choosing one of his dresses anyway, he saw that as a sign that he had made the right decision. He really did know her. She would have picked that dress and there was **no way** that he would have stayed silent about his feelings then. He barely kept it together during her fitting - just being near her and talking with her again after so long was indescribable..

Seeing her brother so torn just about broke Steffy's heart.

'Dayzee' she softly said.

'I am **not** talking about this with you. I can't talk about this with anyone.'

Thomas sighed as he went to stare out at the busy streets of the city. Now wishing that she had dialed down her curiosity for once, Steffy decided to finally do as he had asked her to earlier.

'Okay. Now, for my line I was thinking about prints. Since they seem to be so IN right now - how about just adding some print lining to a few pieces that are already completed? Just to add some 'pop' to them? What do you think?'

Ever grateful that his sister has finally dropped the previous subject at the moment, Thomas jumped on the new topic. 'Sure! Let me grab the completed photo book, and we can see which pieces would work.'

After a few more hours of brainstorming and light teasing on Steffy's part, they decided to go out for a much deserved lunch.

As they both were heading for the door, Thomas stopped.

'You okay?' Steffy asked.

'Yeah, just..need to put away a few things.' he answered.

She knew that he was talking about the sketches - especially the last one. Thomas looked one last time at the three sketches and sighed. As he went to put them all back in the bottom drawer of his workstation desk, he placed the three inside and held on to the others.

While walking back to the front door, he decided to let Steffy use them for her line. She almost didn't take the designs from him when he handed them to her.

'You're right. These designs are amazing, and since I'm not relaunching TFW at the moment, you might as well have them.' he said with a sigh.

'Thank you' was all she could say in return.

It would be hard to see those designs on the runaway, but Thomas knew that it was time to let them go. Just like it was time to really start to let go of the love he had for their muse.


End file.
